Chapter 84: Observer

Alex nodded and took a deep breath and got up. 

[Plus Exp]

Alex looked at the prompt in surprise and confusion, 'It seems like training with someone gains experience points for me… So This will not only help me build techniques but also help me gain levels.' Alex looked excited. Another prompt appeared, [Learner's Heart]

[Reward: Passive ability Observer: Learn techniques from intense observations.]

"Wait what?" Alex audibly mumbled when reading the reward. He looked at Midnight who looked a bit surprised by Alex's mumble. She squinted her eyes and asked, "Did something happen?" A sly smile appeared on her face. 

Alex looked shook his head and laughed, "No, no. I was just surprised by how durable my body has before. If I were to be attacked that way a few days ago, I'd probably be in the hospital… I guess Being awakened has really done a lot of my body haha." Alex scratched his head awkwardly. 

Midnight laughed and spoke, "I guess I can understand the feeling. You went from no powers to be a super human. It's not slightly as well, B ranked awakened aren't the most common and well, now you're a B ranked awakened, Not officially but it's only a matter of time before you get it officially." 

Alex nodded when he heard Midnight, He spoke, "Could you show me that punch once again?" 

Midnight looked a but confused and asked, "What punch?" Alex thought, 'I should really be more specific, why do I ask in such vaguery.' He looked at the room where he fought the bot and spoke, "The example of the punch you gave me after I defeated that bot." Alex explained slowly. 

Midnight looked a bit confused as to why Alex would ask that but she nodded, "Alright, I guess you're interested in learning the proper technique which is very much respectable. Watch closely, I'll do it quickly then I'll do it a bit slower. Just observe how my body moves when I do them." 

Alex nodded and smiled, "Please do." He wanted to see how the passive ability would work. 

Midnight got up to a stance and punched the air. Alex tried to observe everything he could about the punch. Midnight then looked at Alex and then punched once more, this time slower. She then spoke, "This is a simple yet powerful straight. It's good to knock someone out really easily if you get them on the chin." Midnight said as she indicated her chin. 

Alex nodded, 'I don't feel anything different… Do I just try to replicate how she did that punch?' Alex thought to himself. He was very confused about how the passive ability would work. Alex looked at Midnight and stood in a similar stance that she was in while punching. 

Alex then took a deep breath and tried to repeat the same punch as close as he could. 'It… I didn't feel anything different, it just felt like I imitated her punch but it didn't feel as powerful as it should have been.' Alex didn't notice the surprise on Midnight's face when she saw him imitate her punch. "Well… You've never done that before right? I know that you said that you've never had training but I need to confirm again, You've never trained in combat before? As in never learned how to punch expect seeing a few people do them every now and then?" Midnight asked Alex curiously. 

Alex nodded in return and spoke, "I haven't, I was just trying to imitate what you did as close as I could…" He didn't know what happened to Midnight but a thought popped into his mind, 'Wait… did I execute the punch properly? It didn't feel like anything special but seeing her reaction, Is this passive ability this amazing that it let me learn her punch in just looking at her do it?' Alex looked excited. 

Midnight looked at Alex with squinted eyes, "No, It wasn't how I did it, It was lacking a few things but you executed it pretty well. It was missing the foot work but for imitation, it was good. Though I doubt it could be used in combat, You just copied the static movement but as I said before, you need to learn the foundation of close combat, foot work. As long as you know how to move, you'll be undefeatable in combat. So once you're able to apply that punch while moving, you'll be able to defeat anyone with similar strength… At least in close combat." 

Alex looked a bit shocked, 'SO this passive ability really is this stupidly useful… But I can't understand why I'm getting these rewards… I remember that overly powerful skill that I got when I got the system initially, It just gave me a free pass, took over for me, and changed my body a bit. After that, I can't use it, I can't even see it in my ability menu but still, it's something that I got for no other reason than luck…' Alex couldn't make out why he got such rewards. 

He thought for a bit but shook his head, 'I shouldn't get distracted by that, as long as it benefits me and isn't suspicious, I can accept it and stop questioning it…' Alex took a deep breath and looked at his fist, 'Now, going back to the original topic at hand… This being able to learn the techniques… Maybe I could apply to it as I move… Because it says, learns techniques, not copy them. So it can't be limited to me only being able to do this straight punch while static, I should be able to do it while moving…'

Alex looked at Midnight, "I want to try doing this as I move as well, I want to experiment on my own…" He requested. Midnight looked a bit confused but she shrugged and said, "As long as you continue to show miracles and don't have any harmful intents towards us, I'm more than happy to help you." She said truthfully. 

Midnight walked a few meters back and said, "I'm ready, come at me!" Alex nodded and started to run, 'I'll try to push this, I'll run around her, jump to her and try to punch her back.' He planned as Midnight waited for his attack. 

Alex ran behind Midnight and jumped to her back, Midnight didn't seem to move at all even when Alex was at her back. She just waited for the attack. Alex hesitated for a second but followed through with the attack. 

Alex punched straight towards Midnight's back, 'The punch feels the same but it also feels like I'm losing my balance… My body is leaning too forward so I'll fall down if I can't do anything about it.' Alex's face turned dark. 

Everything felt slow, Alex watched as his hands slowly moved to Midnight's back to strike her but he noticed that Midnight was ready for him. She quickly grabbed his hand and used his unbalance to throw him in front of her. 

"Shit." Alex said as he lied on the ground. He looked at the ceiling and laughed, "I guess I really do need to learn the basics." 

Midnight nodded, "You did well. For someone who doesn't know the basics, It was scarily good. You didn't know where to put your feet but to punch with your body weight behind it as you jumped towards me is a good start. It's kind of similar to how you did it before but this time, it was more body weight on it. It's like a double edged sword that if you can't put your leg on the correct spot, you just lose balance and fall. So I'm pretty sure that after you learn the basic footwork, you'll be at a good level." Midnight explained. 

Alex nodded and stood up, 'Maybe I can just use this passive ability to learn the foot work… If I do this properly, I could theoretically just learn close combat techniques in a day. Observer the basic moves, then the more difficult ones and even the pro ones… After that, I will learn that technique…' he felt excited about this new ability. 

Alex looked at Midnight and spoke, "What do I first have to learn for the basics? Foot work?" A slight smile to indicate that he was teasing Midnight about saying foot work a lot.

Midnight laughed and nodded, "yes, I know that I said that many times but that really is how you begin. As you master basic foot work you'll be able to learn other techniques. I haven't explained to you what techniques you'll be learning so let's start with that. This is my own combat techniques that I've derived from others. Likes compiled all the best techniques and simplified them to my liking and tried to evolve them. So if you learn this, you'll have an easier time with other techniques… At least that's what I hope will happen. But it depends on you as well. So Alex, Are you ready for your basic training to begin?"